The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-13
BARTOW.
The Summerlin Institute.
A Day of Pride to Polk
County.
Interesting Ceremonies and Touching Tribute 10
the Benevolent Founder.


| SpecidI 4" the PIdfkd Mars.
BARTow, FLA, May l2.-The 12th day
of May will be long memorable i'm Polk
| County as the day on which the corner
stone of the Summerlin Institute was
laid. Before the great day arrived the
hotels We're filled by visitors from every
where. To the already overfiowing
crowd the Florida Southern brought up
| six car loads from Manatee. The citi-
| zens are ever ready To encourage prog
ress and education. Later i'm the day
the South Florida road brought i'm two
excursion trains, thus swelling the mum
bers to over one thousand.
As the different teams came i'm the Or
lando Cornet Band led them with sweet
music To the grounds and toward the
Court House. At this latter place, ow-
ing To the threatening weather, the ora
tions were delivered. Mr.. Sessions. of
the Barlow Informant, introduced Mr.. j.
4. Dunlap, a promising young lawyer, in
an eloquent manner. Mr.. Dunlap wei
coined the visitors to Barlow i'm behalf of
her appreciative citizens. The Mayor of
the city. DIR. Smith. introduced the
orator of the day, Col. G.. A. Hanson,
Polk County's untiring son. I'm this
speech lac sketched the manner i'm which
the Summerlin Institute had been
created i'm 1856. Mr.. Jacob Sum
merlin, known as one Of the
cattle kings of Florida, donated forty
acres of ground in Barlow, then i'm
Al. l. a 4. ~
whites of Polk County. Out of 100 acres,
Mr.. Summerlin gave forty for the Court
House, forty for churches. forty for
education, and held forty for the Sum
merlin Institute. I'm this way he
divided his homestead between justice,
religion, education and Summerlin. To-
day he realizes, in the happiness of
Polk County and the future enlighten-
ment of her sons and daughters, How
blessed it is To give" Mr.. Summerlin
was born near Newnansville, Fla, in
1922. BY thrift and perseverance he
made large fortune in the cattle bust
ness. OF his generosity none can doubt.
THE BARBECUE.
After the Grafton by Col. Hanson, the
audience soon repaired to the picnic
grounds where well filled tables groaned
beneath barbecued and sweetmeats. The
best of order prevailed. The greatest
abundance Of everything good was pre-
pared.
LAYING THE CORNER STONE.
After dinner threatening cloud
seemed To harbor i'll. After it had cooled
the atmosphere. the sun shone out i'm
time To allow Most Worshipful Master
Mason X. III. Weller, with imposing cere-
emonies, to test with the level and the
plumb the accuracy of the cornerstone.
He found it true and trusty.
Within the stone We're sealed newspa-
pers of to-day, postage stamps, coins,
sket ches of the trustees of the Summer
lin Fund. namely Captain David
Hughes, Col. q. A. Hanson and Jacob
Summerlin. Most Worshipful Grand
address, paying a glowing tribute to
masonry.
A TOUCHING TRIBUTE.
Then followed the most touching event
of the day. a little boy and a sweet lit
tie girl spoke eloquently and with feeling
To Jacob Summerlin of their appreciation
of his great gift. Said the lovely girl, in
handing him the gilded cane: God
bless We, say all the children" And
thus, after an expression of graft
fication from Mr.. Sumr.erlin closed
the ceremonies of that which commenced
in 1886, tit climax Ia a generous gift,
Gods blessing invoked by little children
upon an old man.
IMPORTANCE OF THE EVENT.
The laying Of the corner stone of the
Summerlin Institute has a greater sig
nificance than is implied in the simple
exercises of to-day. 1t means that Polk
County is alive to the material and edu-
cational interests of its citizens, and
will make the work Of to-day but the
introduction Of the greater and more
splendid results that will follow in the
immediate future. The celebration is
regarded here as the most important
event that has yet transpired in South
Florida ). L. III.
The strike in the building trades at
rbica0o has fhrown on mar, rs.t NJ